Cardinals' $7.5 Million Vet Is St. Louis' Most Underrated Trade Piece

Could the Cardinals trade the veteran pitcher after a short stint with the team?

Sep 19, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde (12) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Although it's too early to know exactly what is on the docket for the St. Louis Cardinals, it's clear that changes are on the way.

St. Louis is in a transition year and is hoping to refill its farm system. The Cardinals may not contend in 2025, but rebuilding the farm system would be a great idea to maintain long-term contention. St. Louis clearly needs to fix something after two straight seasons below the team's standards.

Something isn't working, so it's time to go back to the drawing board.

This likely will lead to trades involving veterans this winter in order to recoup some prospects. Unsurprisingly, players like Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, or Ryan Helsley have been the team's most talked about trade candidates.

But one player who likely could bring in a solid haul and is a very underrated trade piece is veteran starting pitcher Erick Fedde.

Fedde was selected in the first round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft by the Washington Nationals and made his big league debut in 2017. Things didn't work out for him at the big league level for the first few years of his career, and he ended up pitching in South Korea in 2023. He certainly figured something out and signed a two-year, $15 million deal with the Chicago White Sox ahead of the 2024 season.

He was traded to St. Louis this past summer and finished the season with a 3.30 ERA across 31 starts overall. Fedde is due to make just $7.5 million in 2025 but he has shown that he can be a middle-the-rotation starter for a contender.

Plenty of teams will be looking for pitching and Fedde could be a great trade candidate because pretty much every team could afford his contract, while not everyone could afford someone more expensive like Gray.

A team like the Los Angeles Dodgers or Baltimore Orioles spring to mind because they both have great farm systems but may not look to make a massive signing this winter. Could Fedde be a solution?

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